Technicalities
by Colors del Cielo
Summary: Another day in the lives of Hibari Kyoya and Yamamoto Takeshi. Except there's a little something different today. - set in TYL!world, 8018 fluff, oneshot


_From Shiro to one of my dearest friends! Happy late birthday to you~_

_Proofread and edited by the awesome Ryu! Thank you so much~  
><em>

_A lot of this story is between the lines, so hopefully you'll all read carefully!_

_Some things you should know before reading:_  
><em>-kun = a Japanese suffix commonly used by young adult males<em>  
><em>-nii = a Japanese suffix used for big brothers (or those considered as big brother figures<em>  
><em>idiota = Italian for "idiot"<em>

_And yes, I dropped some of the suffixes. If you know a bit about the Japanese culture, you'll know that the use of a name without suffixes, or simply using the first name (like Takeshi instead of Yamamoto) is a sign of close or intimate relationships. If you have any questions about it, either look it up or ask me._

_Also, the general narrative of the story uses the character names that Hibari would use for referring to others, such as Sawada Tsunayoshi and Rokudo Mukuro._

_**Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and characters © Amano Akira**_

* * *

><p><strong>Technicalities<strong>

Deft fingers twirled the silk tie around a slender neck before finishing the knot and smoothing the creases out. The man wearing the tie stood still, a bored expression adorning his face as the task was completed. However, before he abruptly turned and left the bedroom, Hibari's mouth made the tiniest quirk upwards before returning to a mask of indifference. Walking into the hallway, he then began his daily routine at the Vongola Headquarters.

And so his everyday torture started once again. In retrospect, Hibari really couldn't believe that herbivores, such as Gokudera and Yamamoto, had actually managed to defeat Byakuran ten years ago. By now, those "Guardians" should have at least sharpened their fangs a bit, or somehow amended their tendency towards weak and _useless_ behavior. Unfortunately for him, though, none of the above had happened (and maybe, in reality, they had become even more immature). A low growl rumbled from within his throat as he observed the scene before him.

"_What_ did you just say, stupid cow!" Gokudera snarled. His left fist was clenched in the folds of Lambo's collar, arm flexing as he pulled the wailing teenager off the ground. The steel rings glinted dangerously on his raised right fist as Gokudera gave the Lightning Guardian a vicious shake.

_Ah_, thought Hibari as he watched from his convenient location in the office doorway, his presence unnoticed by the engrossed audience. _It seems like this will give me some entertainment for today_.

"_All_ I said was that Yamamoto would make a better right-hand man than you! He's a whole lot nicer to me, and he smiles a whole lot more, and he doesn't blow up everything he touches, like you do!" Lambo tried to clarify, vainly attempting to wrestle his way out of Gokudera's iron grip.

Scratch that last thought. This was _hilarious_. Apparently, the thunder herbivore had fried his brain too many times to know when he should apply some self-preservation tactics. Such as shutting his mouth. Hibari smirked as he saw rage tint Gokudera's eyes a murderous emerald grey.

But, to his disappointment, someone finally realized where the situation was headed and decided to step in before any real damage was done.

"Hayato-nii, stop! Don't hurt Lambo!" I-Pin hurled herself between them, pulling the now-frightened boy away from the adult Guardian's grasp. "He didn't mean anything he said!"

The Chinese girl strategically covered Lambo's mouth with her hand, preventing any more untimely comments from spewing out.

"Like hell he didn't!" Gokudera exclaimed in retaliation. Bristling, he took a menacing step towards the cowering teen. "This dumb little sh—"

"Hayato-nii, what would Tsuna-nii say if he saw you acting like this?"

Silence reigned for a few seconds before Lambo snorted. Giggles soon exploded out of his mouth as his eyes teared up. He fell to the floor when I-Pin dropped him in surprise.

"Y-your f-face! BWAHAHAHAHA! Priceless, absolutely priceless~!" he shrieked, rolling on the plush carpet as laughter continued pouring out.

"All right, THAT'S_ IT_!" A roar ripped out of Gokudera's mouth as he flicked his dynamite out, the explosives materializing from within hidden pockets in his suit.

The onlookers gasped and backed away from the soon-to-be disaster. Hibari frowned slightly, taking a step forward and slipping his trusty tonfa out of his sleeves. _Despite my amusement, if I allow this to continue, the discipline of this place will be disturbed. It's time to stop this._

But before any further action could take place, the heavy doors of the Vongola Decimo's office slammed open and Sawada Tsunayoshi stepped out. His chocolate irises still held a degree of warmth in them, but now they contained an additional layer of sternness as he glanced about the suddenly quiet room. He spotted the infamous Cloud Guardian by the exit and blinked once in shock before swiftly focusing his attention on his two frozen Famiglia members.

His right eyebrow twitched upwards, and, serenely, he voiced his question out loud. "Could one of you tell me _exactly_ _what is happening here_?"

Lambo's intelligent reply trailed off as he shifted on his feet, "Uhhhh . . ."

Gokudera's response was laced with embarrassment and tinged with apology. "Tenth! I was only defending my honor as your right-hand man!" There was a _thunk _as he threw himself upon the floor and bowed his head, silver strands of hair covering his guilty expression. "Please forgive me for distracting you from your work. I promise it will not happen again!"

From his prostrated position on the floor, he lifted his head to shoot a warning glare at Lambo, who furiously nodded in agreement. Tsunayoshi muttered inaudibly under his breath and sighed.

"Sometimes, I don't know what to do with you guys. Lambo, please, for the sake of everyone here, do _not_ keep provoking Gokudera. He's truly going to kill you if you don't stop. And Gokudera, you can get up now. You really don't have to formally apologize like that anymore, especially since something like this seems to happen every other day."

With an inconspicuous huff, Tsunayoshi then dismissed the crowd that had gathered, ordering them to get back to work. Hibari calmly pushed his weapons back into the dark recesses of his suit, his help unnecessary after all. Thankfully, when the circumstances called for it, the sometimes omnivorous shepherd of the Vongola herbivores would be able to settle any petty dispute amongst his "animals." Even Hibari felt a little impressed at the Decimo's impressive control over his Famiglia.

Satisfied with the conclusion of the morning's events, he decided to leave before some other drama occurred. However, just as Hibari was about to turn and make his way to the cafeteria for a late breakfast, the bubbling sound of laughter came from behind him.

"That was kinda exciting, huh, Hibari?" Yamamoto Takeshi chuckled, flashing his trademark smile. Hibari resisted the urge to recoil from the sheer brightness of the man's demeanor. There went his quiet departure.

Choosing to ignore the noisy swordsmaster, Hibari reversed his initial direction and strolled over to the Vongola boss. He tersely pulled out a tiny packet of folded papers and, with a concise explanation of, "My report, Tsunayoshi," turned on his heel and approached the towering, clear-paned windows. In one fluid motion, he unlatched one of the smaller panes, swung it open, and without a glance back, leapt out. This was, of course, one of the many "normal" behaviors that the Vongola had learned to accept when dealing with this enigmatic Guardian, even if the Headquarters happened to be three stories tall.

"Hm? Did I do something wrong?" Yamamoto asked Tsunayoshi with a puzzled smile.

Ignoring the desire to smack his face with the palm of his hand, Tsunayoshi chuckled and replied, "Nah, I just think that Hibari is being Hibari right now."

"Ah, yeah, that makes sense," came the cheerful response.

"I'm glad something makes sense to you, baseball idiot," Gokudera joined in, fully recovered from his most recent humiliation. "Anyway, did you or the Tenth notice something _off_ about Hibari? I mean, regarding his appearance . . . ?"

"Ah, I'm glad you brought it up, Gokudera. I thought that I was the only one who thought so." A pleased grunt of acknowledgment could be heard from the Storm Guardian.

"Eh? What was wrong about the way Hibari looked? Did he have bedhead or something?" Yamamoto scratched the back of his head with a baffled expression.

"No, _idiota_!" the bomber shouted in annoyance. "Didn't you notice that his t—"

Gokudera's next words were drowned out by a tremendous screeching, rending noise from outside, or, more specifically, from the courtyard that Hibari had just jumped into. Yamamoto reacted instantaneously, rushing through his farewells before dashing out into the hallway and making for the stairway.

_What has Hibari gotten himself into now?_ Yamamoto wondered. He felt sorry for whoever it was that Hibari had selected as convenient stress relief.

"You should be thankful, herbivore. You have the honor of testing your strength against mine. Your other herbivore companions cringing over there should be jealous."

The only response to Hibari's statement was a shrill screech as the man was tossed up and over the flourishing trees lining the garden wall. A dull _thump_ was followed by a pained gasp, and Hibari casually polished his metal tonfa.

By the time Yamamoto slid to a stop by the courtyard gates, more than ten Vongola grunts were laid out on the ground, groaning and bloody. Presiding over this devastating scene was Hibari, who was perched upon a marble clam statue like a mighty black raven. Surrounding him, the irises, yellow roses and white lilacs that Chrome had carefully planted one joyful spring swayed untouched in the breeze, contrasting the brutality that the wounded hitmen had suffered. Despite the circumstances, Yamamoto had to let a tiny chuckle slip past his lips; even if Hibari was the most violent person in their Famiglia, when it came to small animals and the natural world, he was perhaps the most gentle and doting. However, the Japanese swordsman quickly arranged his face from amusement to reprimanding calm. He approached the expressionless ex-prefect, sidling up to Hibari's stone throne and leaning against it, cautious of crushing the fragile blossoms.

"Yo, Hibari!" he greeted the silent Guardian.

Sharp slate-grey eyes narrowed and briefly flicked down to the perpetually cheerful baseball—lover. Hibari readjusted his grip on the tonfa before speaking, "Unless you are here to fight me, sword herbivore, get out of my sight."

"Aw, that's kind of harsh!" came the unperturbed counter. "Not even going to say hello back?"

"There is a limit to the number of times I can stand to see your face every day. You have exceeded that limit. Now, leave." This time, Hibari brusquely smacked his weapons against the top of the clam statue as a warning.

Yamamoto ignored it and rolled his head back to stare up at the irritated man. "Haha! What's wrong with my face, Hibari? It can't be that you find me ugly, 'cuz you never really minded until now~"

Hibari sighed, then jumped and landed away from the Chrome's precious garden, flipping out his cell phone to call the clean-up squad. Hibari pointedly avoided the triumphant grin on Yamamoto's face as he explained the situation to the responder in short, clipped tones.

Deciding to push his luck, Yamamoto strolled over to Hibari and leaned down sideways in order to smile directly in the Cloud Guardian's face.

He commented, "I actually think you've gotten softer over the years. The people you fight aren't usually sent to the hospital with critical injuries anymore. And you prefer to just smirk at Gokudera and Lambo instead of forcefully shutting the both of them up."

All of a sudden, Yamamoto's face lit up. "OH! Could it be that you're being influenced by Tsuna's niceness too? I guess his personality is rubbing off on you!"

Instantly, Hibari retorted, "Herbivore, I don't know where your ideas come from, but you need to seal that hole of yours. It keeps spewing useless things."

"Hole? Eh?" A nimble finger pointed questioningly at Yamamoto's upturned mouth, but the motion was only acknowledged by a "Hn."

"If you don't mind, I am going to eat in the cafeteria now. Go elsewhere."

Caramel-colored eyes followed Hibari's long strides towards the main building, and Yamamoto hastily pursued his target. _Now, Hibari, why would I go anywhere else after you just let me know where you're headed?_

It was, needless to say, an extremely brisk walk. Seeing the aggravated Cloud Guardian stomping down the hallway towards them was more than enough reason for the Vongola hitmen to get the hell _out of the way_. Yet another one of the learned habits during the tenth Vongola generation. And quite convenient for Hibari whenever he wanted to travel from point A to point B in the shortest time possible.

"O-oi! Hibari, please slow down! You're walking too fast!" the swordsman shouted pleadingly. He murmured yet another apology to an unfortunate victim who couldn't react quickly (according to Hibari's judgment).

"Herbivore. You aren't required to follow me like a lost sheep. Go find your shepherd before I bite you to death."

"You mean Tsuna?" The question was left hanging, Hibari only frowning in response.

Yamamoto continued, "Anyway, it's always more interesting around you! Right now, Tsuna's probably doing desk work, with Gokudera helping him. Just like every other day."

When this failed to induce a reaction from his silent companion, Yamamoto cleared his throat, and began in a somewhat nervous tone, "I was wondering—whenever you finish work, of course—if you'd like to . . . uh, if you wouldn't mind going with me to—"

Hibari's footsteps halted, and he abruptly interjected, "If you aren't going to spit out whatever is on your mind, herbivore, then—"

"Baa." This time, it was the shorter man who was interrupted

". . . what are you doing, herbivore?"

"BAAA~"

"Yamamoto Takeshi, if you don't stop that nonsensical noise now, I _will _bite you to_ death_," Hibari scowled.

He twitched at Yamamoto's sudden joyful outburst, "You finally called me by my proper name!"

"You were pretending to be a sheep in order to hear your name?" Somehow that way of thinking made absolutely no sense to Hibari.

"No, no, for a different reason! You kept calling me a sheep, so I thought you wanted me to sound like one." Yamamoto paused in order to fully enjoy Hibari's disbelieving expression before continuing.

"What, did I do it wrong? Baha? BaaAaaAaaaaAA. Baa-_ACK_!"

While the swordsman experimented with varying sounds, the shorter man reached his breaking point and violently whacked the oblivious Guardian with a very heavy, very solid metal tonfa.

"Enough. I've lost my appetite. Since I'm certain that you haven't handed in your report, I will accompany you to Tsunayoshi's office to make sure you do. But only if you shut up. _Herbivore_."

With a satisfied grin, Yamamoto tugged the imaginary zipper on his mouth shut and shuffled after the rapidly disappearing back of the former Disciplinary Committee President.

Just as he had done before, Hibari tried to stay by the exit instead of walking further into the bustling office. Unfortunately, this did nothing to prevent the willful Yamamoto from literally dragging him into the boss's office, where Tsunayoshi stood by the windows conversing with a laughing Gokudera. Rokudo Mukuro seemed to be listening from where he sat on the desk behind the two. He was the first to notice the newcomers, and his eyes twinkled mischievously upon seeing Hibari.

"Oh, Yamamoto, Hibari! Did you guys already get a bite to eat?" Tsunayoshi exclaimed in surprise once he noticed their presence. Gokudera grimaced at their presence.

"Hibari. I'd like to ask you to refrain from jumping out of windows. Using a door is a perfectly viable way of leaving, you know," Gokudera reprimanded Hibari.

A haughty smirk. "So says the one who cannot even control his temper when dealing with a teenager. I believe that the child herbivore is speaking the truth on this matter; you really don't seem to be living up to your title as the Vongola Decimo's right-hand man," Hibari commented in an apathetic voice.

Tsunayoshi stepped in front of Gokudera, pushing lightly on the taller man's chest in order to prevent any attempt to assault the poker-faced Japanese. He turned his head a bit to frown at his Cloud Guardian.

"Hibari, you know I don't approve of those kinds of spiteful insults," Tsunayoshi scolded him, more in a friend-to-friend manner than a condescending one.

"Oh yes, we don't like that at all, do we?" Rokudo interjected at last, smiling pleasantly at Hibari. Tsunayoshi gave the illusionist a stare that clearly warned him that his input was unneeded.

"Herbivore, although I am glad that you are looking out for my _welfare_," Hibari responded, speaking to Tsunayoshi's about his interference with Gokudera's outraged advance, "I was merely stating my opinion. It has been ten years, and the only changes I have witnessed were your succession as the Vongola Boss and acknowledgement of this man as the Third Sword Emperor."

Hibari tapped Yamamoto lightly on the shoulder as he spoke, making the other beam brightly in pride. Gokudera scoffed and Tsunayoshi shook his head in resignation. Rokudo sighed dramatically, somewhat amused at being ignored.

"Unfortunately, I see no way for the other Guardians to prove their worth to you, but please just promise me that you will limit such comments to a minimum."

"I make no guarantees."

Seeing that this issue was as resolved as it could possibly be, Tsunayoshi searched for another topic. Thus, he discovered that his Mist Guardian was trying to restrain his giggles, pointing quite conspicuously at Hibari's chest. Tsunayoshi decided it was high time to address a subject that had been bothering him since Yamamoto's first appearance that very morning.

"Um, if you wouldn't mind me asking, Hibari, but Gokudera and I were wondering . . ." Tsunayoshi cleared his throat before proceeding, "Why did you decide to wear that . . . uh, I mean your _tie _. . . in such a _fascinating _manner today?"

Hibari's eyes immediately contracted into a dangerous steel grey, drilling his gaze into Tsunayoshi's warily curious one.

"Are you attempting to criticize the way I wear my clothes, herbivore?" came the menacingly chilly retaliation.

"Kufufufu~ Don't get so worked up, Kyoya-kun~" Rokudo snickered. "I'm sure you _must_ have an absolutely thrilling reason for having your tie in a _gorgeous~ little~ bow~_. Please, do tell!"

Gokudera produced a sound somewhere between a _pft_ and a gasp, covering his mouth and turning his face to try to mask his rude reaction. Tsunayoshi just gave a strained smile, unsure of exactly what he should expect.

"Ouch, guys! Why are you all being so mean to me?" Yamamoto complained, flinging his arm around Hibari's tense shoulders.

"Hmm? This has nothing to do with you, Yamamoto Takeshi," Rokudo said, somewhat baffled. But realization dawned on both Tsunayoshi and Gokudera.

"Do you mean to tell us—" Tsunayoshi started to say, pupils dilating in surprise.

"—that _you_ made Hibari's tie into a bow?" Gokudera finished, incredulous.

The man in question tilted his head to the right, laughing at their puzzled expressions. But before he could confirm or deny anything, Hibari swiftly kicked him in the back of his knees, causing the tall man to crumple to the floor before being unceremoniously dragged out the door, through the main office, and into the hallway. His faint protests were stifled by Hibari's hand over his mouth.

"Forget this ever happened, herbivores, or I _WILL_ bite you all to death!" The Cloud Guardian hurled the threat over his shoulder before exiting, leaving behind three shell-shocked Vongola hitmen.

A few seconds after his departure, Tsunayoshi deduced disbelievingly, "Hibari lets Yamamoto fix his tie for him. And he lets him do it incorrectly. And he wears that incorrectly made tie in public, with a straight face. And he doesn't seem to care at all. Am I reaching the same conclusion as you guys?"

"I have no idea, Tenth. What the hell just happened?" Gokudera eloquently wondered.

"Kufufu. It appears that our cloud is more tolerant of the rain than we previously thought. How very unusual of our dear Kyoya-kun," Rokudo chortled in mirth.

**cloudkumocloudnuvola**

Yamamoto's deft fingers twirled the silk tie around Hibari's slender neck before finishing the knot and smoothing the creases out. Despite the swordsmaster's attempt at a conversation, the other man remained still and silent like a statue, a bored expression gracing his features as the task was completed. Once Yamamoto stepped back, Hibari examined himself in the wall mirror and, satisfied that the tie was _properly done_, deemed the handiwork worthy of praise.

"Much better than last time, Takeshi," the smaller Japanese man commented. Yamamoto glowed with pride and thanked him. They walked through the suite's living room and approached the door leading to the rest of the Headquarters.

"After you, Kyoya!" Yamamoto declared with a wide grin and a bow, happily opening and holding the door for him. Hibari released a disgruntled _hmph_, but accepted the gesture anyway. There was no use in wasting an act of generosity, after all.

Stepping over the door's threshold, they began their daily routine at the Vongola Headquarters. And when a cloud gathers, the rain promptly follows and begins to pour until both the cloud and rain disperse without a trace.

After one appears, the other is quick to arrive. They compliment and contrast one another, helping and giving on equal terms.

Like always, they remain together regardless of certain technicalities.


End file.
